Frankenstein Created Woman (1967) has the most harrowing opening of any Hammer film. The picture opens with a man being taken to the guillotine as his young son looks on. The boy cries out for his father as the father begs for the vicar to take his son away. Then the guillotine does its deadly work and all that’s seen is the boy’s face followed by the blood stained blade of that brutal device.
The rest of the film takes place later when that little boy has grown up to be Frankenstein’s (Peter Cushing) assistant. As an adult, Hans (Robert Morris) is the star of the film, not the titular Baron. Frankenstein exists as a supporting player whose whimsical experiments are little more than a plot device.
The bulk of the movie concerns Hans and his lover Christina (Susan Denberg). Christina is the daughter of an inn keeper who is regularly tormented by a trio of well off landowner’s sons. This provokes Hans to violence and in retaliation the three thugs frame Hans for murder. But because Hans was with Christina he has no alibi and is executed just like his father. Hans’ death and Christina’s suicide set in motion a plot of transexuality to rival Dr. Jekyll and Sister Hyde (1971).
With Hans dead, the Baron transfers his soul into Christina’s now beautiful and blonde body. Both Christina and Hans occupy Denberg’s body. Unknown to the Baron at night they slip out and exact their revenge. It’s a plot twist that sees a trans character out for vengeance a la Sleepaway Camp (1983). But unlike that film the trans identity results in a second suicide.
What’s interesting is that Frankenstein Created Woman does not judge the trans character. They exist as a legitimate character that is never referred to derogatively. They aren’t even the villain of the piece but rather a vigilante hero. All Frankenstein does is explain trans identity as a concept as one would expect from a film made in the sixties.
Frankenstein Created Woman finds director Terence Fisher at his best. The film oozes with a creepy atmosphere and the deaths are gruesome. But most importantly is the sense of dread that in Fisher’s hands permeates every frame of the film. Frankenstein Created Woman is the equal of The Curse Of Frankenstein (1957) in every way.
